


Amortentia

by fictionalportal



Series: Pride Month 2.0: Extra Fluffy Edition [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Power Rangers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Crossover, F/F, Quidditch, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-11-29 16:02:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11444280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalportal/pseuds/fictionalportal
Summary: Your favorite squad kicks off their seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Kimberly is competitive on and off the quidditch pitch, especially when Tamara Oliver is involved. Slow burn Trimberly.Featuring:Trini and Billy, Ravenclaw brosJason and Zack, successors to the Weasley prankster legacyand Kimberly Hart, Slytherin quidditch captain





	1. Reducto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reducto (spell) - a curse that can be used to blast solid objects into pieces.

In her six years at Hogwarts, Trini Rodriguez had never once seen Kimberly Hart oblige the dress code. She always wore something indicative of her house, as per the rules, but she always seemed to have on something pink. According to Kimberly, the bright pink accents complimented her green and silver robes and ties. During their first two years, professors had often docked Slytherin house points because of her wardrobe infractions, but she pointed out that she wasn’t breaking any all-important fashion rules and continued wearing what she wanted. When Kimberly was eventually called in to Headmaster McGonagall’s office during year three, she again defended herself (“My skin has warm undertones! Just because the sorting hat thinks it’s okay for me to look washed out in green doesn’t mean I have to agree”).

As Trini walked across the muggle side of the train platform, she thought about how this would be one of her last rides on the Hogwarts Express. She wasn’t planning on going home for the holidays, but she was planning to go on a trip with her friends over the break.

Her thoughts seemed to summon Zack Taylor and Jason Scott out of the crowd. They were the resident pranksters of Gryffindor house, the true successors to the Weasley twins’ legacy, according to the headmaster.

“Yo, Crazy Girl! Ready for year seven?” Zack approached her and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug and lifted her off the platform.

“Yo,” Trini managed, the air being crushed out of her lungs. When he finally put her down, she stumbled to find her footing.

“Good to see you, Trini,” Jason said, offering a much gentler teddy-bear hug. “Seen the others?”

Trini shook her head. Knowing Billy Cranston, he was already on the train, and Kimberly would probably show up about two minutes before the slated departure time and sprint all the way through the station.

“I’ll wait,” Trini said, dismissing the boys. “You know Kim’s gonna cut it close.”

“You sure?” Jason asked. “We can hang back if you want.”

“Yeah, go find Billy.”

Without another word, they pushed their trolleys towards the wall. Jason went through first, and Zack paused to wink at Trini before following. She rolled her eyes and sat down on a bench by the wall to wait.

She watched the minutes tick away on the giant clock face, and she swore that she could hear the final warning whistle through the wall. A few more minutes went by, and the train had certainly left.

Trini was stranded at the station with no way to Hogwarts.

***

Kimberly wandered into the Great Hall and started scanning the Ravenclaw tables for two red robes. Everyone knew that Billy preferred to sit in the same seat at every meal, and he certainly didn’t like sitting at tables outside of his house even though it was technically allowed. Kimberly, still in her street clothes, spotted Jason waving her over. She was used to the dirty looks that other members of her house cast her as she approached her friends.

She’d become the first Slytherin quidditch captain with a non-magical parent just like any other Slytherin would: by clawing her way through her competition. She’d allegedly punched Ty Fleming, her ex-boyfriend and the only other person campaigning against her, in the face in order to procure her position. Her reputation as “that Slytherin bitch” had spread from the team to the rest of her house to the entire school. Some people hated at her for what she did to the house heartthrob, others out of prejudice. But if there was one thing that Kimberly Hart had learned, it was that such unpleasant people detested nothing more than seeing her keep her chin held high, and so she did exactly that.

“Hey guys,” she said, bouncing up to her friends. She was surprised to see an empty seat next to Billy. “Where’s Trini?”

“Kimberly!” Billy greeted her.

Zack emulated Billy’s excitement. “If it isn’t the Pink Lady!”

“Hang on,” Jason cut in, “Trini’s not with you?”

“Uh, no,” Kimberly replied.

“She waited at the station,” Jason said.

Kimberly’s eyes went wide. “Shit! I was two minutes from the station when I realized I was definitely going to miss the train, so I just apparated here.”

“You what?” Zack asked incredulously. “Dude, you’re not supposed to do that.”

“It’s fine. I just did it right outside of school grounds and walked my stuff up.”

“Good thinking,” Billy said, impressed.

“You should probably go get Trini,” Jason reminded her.

“Yes,” Kimberly agreed.

She ran up to the professors’ table and informed the Head of Ravenclaw House, Professor Clint, that she needed to make an emergency trip back home. For someone who was supposed to be in charge of the smartest group of students in school, he was remarkably absent-minded. Without looking up from his plate, he made a comment about how forgetful international students were and waved her off. As she hurried out of the Great Hall, she thought she heard something explode. The chorus of screams that followed was quickly overtaken by raucous laughter.

“Sounds like the guys prepared a little welcome party for the first years,” she muttered to herself.

***

Trini spent the first half hour in the train station trying to come up with a plan to get to school. She could try to find a shop that was looped into the floo network, but then there would be all sorts of questions when she arrived unannounced in the headmaster’s office. Eventually she gave up on a plan and sank into memories of her time at Hogwarts.

She remembered meeting Billy on the train on the way to school and instantly wanting to be his friend. He hadn’t stopped smiling for the duration of the ride, and he’d been thrilled to tell her about how his dad’s wand had insisted on being passed down to Billy when its former owner died.

Jason and Billy knew each other before coming to school, and Jason and his hyperactive new friend Zack sat with Trini and Billy at dinner the first night.

A decidedly confident girl in Trini’s first year astronomy class had asked her a question about a constellations worksheet. Trini had offered to tutor her and the girl had smiled the most beautiful grin--and that was the exact moment that Trini starting crushing in Kimberly Hart.

For the first few years of their group’s friendship, Zack had relentlessly flirted with Trini. She made it very clear that she wasn’t interested during their fourth year. He wandered into the prefects’ bathroom to set up a particularly nasty itching prank involving charming the toilet paper, and in the third stall he found Trini kissing Tamara Oliver, the Ravenclaw quidditch team’s keeper.

After that, Zack redirected all of his efforts towards finding Trini a girlfriend, which, Trini quickly discovered, was worse than the constant flirting.

A loud poof snapped Trini out of her reminiscing. Kimberly had appeared right in front of the wall to platform nine and three-quarters.

“I am so sorry!” Kimberly exclaimed, rushing over to the bench to hug Trini. “How long have you been waiting?”

“Um, a while?” Trini said, trying not to sound as agitated as she was.

“Sorry,” Kimberly repeated, grabbing one of Trini’s suitcases. “Good news is we can get back in time for dinner.” She held out her other hand.

Trini hesitated. “Don’t we need clearance to apparate?”

“It’s fine,” Kimberly said, flashing that same bright smile that hit Trini like a truck to the chest every time.

Trini stepped closer, and when Kimberly’s arm circled her waist, it was more than fine.


	2. Apparition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparition: a magical method of transportation.
> 
> Kimberly and Trini arrive at school, and Trini finally returns to the common room that feels more like home than anywhere else.

When they landed just outside of the school, Trini dropped to her knees in the grass, clutched her stomach, and focused on not throwing up.

“Isn’t that just the best feeling in the world?” Kimberly said, standing proudly with her hands on her hips. Then she noticed Trini doubled over on the ground. “Oh shit, are you alright?”

Kimberly’s hand on Trini’s back was surprisingly soothing. The touch reminded Trini’s body that she wasn’t falling out of a plane, and the nausea mostly subsided.

“Sorry,” Kimberly said. “I forgot you hate apparating.”

“It’s fine,” Trini replied. She stood slowly and saw the outline of the castle emerging against the quickly darkening, deep blue sky.

Kimberly grabbed the larger of Trini’s suitcases. “Ready?”

They arrived at the castle just in time to catch the end of dinner. The boys had already left, and Kimberly suspected that Jason and Zack had been extricated from the Great Hall after the little explosion at the first years’ table. Billy was probably back in the Ravenclaw dormitories organizing his school supplies. He liked to have all of his materials in order a few days before classes started, Trini knew, whereas the rest of her friends were more likely to show up to the first day of class with nothing but a quill. She hadn’t actually seen Zack take notes since year three.

The familiar halls were filled with clusters of first years in plain black robes hustling to find their newly assigned dormitories. Duos and trios of older students broke away from the crowds to find quiet corners where they could catch each other up on the details of their summer vacations. A gaggle of new Ravenclaws--maintaining a safe distance from the intimidatingly confident seventh years--followed Kimberly and Trini towards the Ravenclaw dormitory.

Rather than charm the suitcases to float up the five-story spiral staircase, Kimberly insisted on carrying Trini’s luggage all the way to the door. Such moments made Trini question whether Kimberly should have been sorted into Gryffindor by virtue of her obstinance alone.

By the time they reached the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room, Kimberly was sweating like she’d just run ten laps around the quidditch pitch.

“Welcome home,” Kimberly huffed, dropping Trini’s suitcase unceremoniously on the floor and throwing her arms in the air.

Trini leaned her other suitcase against the wall and held her hands in front of her to keep Kimberly at arm’s length. “No way I’m hugging you. You smell like six-week-old socks.”

Kimberly grabbed Trini’s hands and smoothly stepped into her space. “So do you.”

“Liar,” Trini protested.

“Curse me if you don’t believe me.”

Trini knew that Kimberly had the world’s worst poker face--and the absence of said abysmal poker face made her falter and risk sniffing her own armpit. Perhaps it wasn’t only Kimberly she’d been smelling. “Fine,” Trini conceded, embracing her friend around the waist, “but only because you’re cuter than the valet elves.”

“Aww,” Kimberly teased.

They held onto each other for a long few seconds. Despite her initial outward reluctance, Trini had to admit that she really enjoyed hugging Kimberly. The warm aroma of Kimberly’s shampoo permeated the salty smell of sweat with notes of vanilla and lavender.

“I missed you,” Trini mumbled into Kimberly’s hair.

Kimberly pulled back from the hug and smiled crookedly. “I missed you, too.”

“Please go shower.”

“Definitely. I’ll see you in class!” And with a wave, Kimberly was disappearing down the stairs, bound for the dungeons and her own common room.

Trini knocked the bronze eagle against the wooden door once and waited for the riddle to come.

_“Feed me and I live. Give me a drink and I die. What am I?”_

“Nice of you to go easy on the new kids,” Trini joked. “A fire.”

The door creaked open. _“The irksome sound of children thinking too hard brings me no pleasure.”_

Trini laughed. Kimberly was right: Trini was home here. Moonlight caught on the cobalt blue thread of the curtains splashed across the walls, and the stars glittered in the fierce eyes of the bronze eagles that guarded the boys’ and girls’ sides. In the middle of the room, on the backless couch, was Trini’s closest friend in her house.

Billy looked up from his book at the sound of the door, and he greeted Trini with an enormous grin.

“Trini! Oh hey, let me help you with those.” He hurried toward the door to assist with her luggage.

“Thanks, Billy.”

“We missed you at dinner, but I’m glad you got back alright. Did Kimberly make you apparate?”

“How’d you guess?”

“Your face is a little greener than usual. That happens after you apparate and when you think about slugs.”

Trini scowled. She did not like to be reminded about slugs.

As Billy wheeled her suitcase over to the girls’ side, he continued. “Did Kimberly tell you? Jason and Zack got called down to the Headmistress’ office.”

“Shit, already?”

Billy twitched when she swore, but he had given up on trying to monitor his friends’ cussing habits many years before.

“What’d they do?” Trini asked.

“I might have told them how to blow up the turkeys at one of the first years’ tables.” He looked down at his hands and twiddled his thumbs.

Trini sighed. If the guys were going to rig explosions, it was best they be controlled explosions. And no one was better at controlling explosions (magical or mundane) than Billy Cranston.

“You ready for classes?” Trini asked, swiftly moving away from the subject of pyromaniacal antics.

“You know I am. And I’m excited for the quidditch game tomorrow. Jason’s gonna have a great season.”

Trini scoffed. “Nice house spirit.”

“No, no, I always cheer for Gryffindor,” Billy clarified. “Trini, our team’s not good.”

“You have a point. Goodnight, Billy,” Trini said, dragging her luggage down the hall towards her room.

Billy’s “Goodnight!” echoed through the marble arch and followed into the stone hallway behind her.

When Trini arrived in her room, she discovered that seventh year privileges were worth the long wait. She would be granted an extra hour before curfew and permission to go to Hogsmeade without a note from her parents (they had never allowed her to go in previous years). On top of those valuable perks, she had her own room at school for the first time. She decided to change into a pair of sweatpants and an oversized shirt and flop onto her bed without unpacking. Her books could wait another day to breathe--she had important snoring to do.

As she settled under the covers, she thought about what Billy had said about the kickoff quidditch game. It was true that Gryffindor and Slytherin usually vied for the top spot within the school, but Trini knew the newly appointed Ravenclaw captain rather well. Tamara Oliver hated losing more than anything, and Trini suspected that she might be more competitive than the entirety of the Gryffindor team combined. Jason certainly wasn’t aggressive about pushing his team to win, but his easygoing leadership style had still led to back-to-back undefeated seasons.

Nonetheless, Trini knew the game would be intense. She fell asleep before deciding which team to cheer on.


	3. Felix Felicis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix Felicis (potion): liquid luck, turns an ordinary day into an extraordinary one.
> 
> Jason gets sidelined for the kickoff quidditch game, and the ever-charismatic Tamara Oliver catches Trini after the game.

Zack and Jason agreed during their third year that Professor McGonagall bore a strong resemblance to a prune. As they sat across from her and their head of house at the desk in the Headmaster’s office, they struggled to remain composed.

“Gentlemen,” McGonagall reprimanded.

“Sorry, Professor,” Zack said. A tear gathered at the corner of his eye as he choked on giggles.

Jason’s ability to deadpan his way through interactions with authority figures only made it more difficult for Zack to stop laughing. During their fifth year, Jason had stranded himself atop a tower after flying up there on a hippogryph. When he’d been safely retrieved and escorted to his disciplinary hearing, he’d repeatedly insisted that he and “Beefcake” had had a connection.

“I suppose I should know better than to assume that you two know better than to terrorize first years,” McGonagall went on.

“...What?” Jason asked, his head spinning.

“Detention this Saturday. I believe you know the way.”

Their head of house, Professor Garcia, cut in. “Detention has historically been as effective as a baby rattle in righting the behavioral issues that have plagued Mr. Taylor and Mr. Scott.”

McGonagall laced her fingers together in front of her. “What would you suggest, Ilani?”

Zack mirrored her and leaned across the desk. “Yes, Ilani, what would you suggest?” That earned him a dangerously sharp glare from both professors, but he sat unblinking and unfazed. As far as Zack was concerned, he had nothing to lose. Even if they revoked his seventh year privileges, he would continue staying out late and doing what he pleased. Given his mother’s status as a former auror and famed friend of Hogwarts, he had little to worry about.

Jason, on the other hand, had no such securities, and the head of house decided that he would bear the brunt of the disciplinary action.

“Mr. Scott shall serve his detention tomorrow afternoon,” Professor Garcia suggested.

“That’s the kickoff quidditch game!” Jason exclaimed. He looked between Zack and Professor McGonagall desperately. When he found no reassurance in their faces, he reluctantly accepted his sentence by staring at the slim silver hourglass on the Headmaster’s desk.

“Wonderful. You can help me sort my quills. Come to my office at two. With some luck maybe you can catch some of the game from the stands.”

“And Mr. Taylor?” McGonagall asked.

Professor Garcia contemplated what must have been a lengthy list of possible punishments before answering. “No Hogsmeade privileges?”

“Whoa, it’s not we killed someone,” Zack defended. “Three weeks no Hogsmeade privileges?”

The head of house rolled her eyes and sighed at his innocent smile. “Fine.”

***

“I can’t believe Jason’s not playing,” Billy said. “Now I have to cheer for Ravenclaw!” He had barely looked up from the wooden planks of the stadium benches since the quidditch game had started twenty minutes before.

“We might actually have a chance,” Trini said. Without Jason, Gryffindor’s team was all over the place. They’d allowed two goals already and one of their beaters had been knocked out by a Bludger.

A cheer spread throughout the Ravenclaw stands as their team scored again. At first, Trini thought that that everyone was simply chanting the house’s name. When Billy joined in, however, she realized that the entire house was shouting in support of Tamara, who had just blocked another goal. She’d sent the ball spinning into another Gryffindor’s right cheek. Trini recognized him as Roan Fleming, Ty’s younger brother by four years. Roan was much nicer than his older brother, according to Jason, and most likely did not deserve to be hit in the face.

Trini wondered if Jason had arrived at the game yet. For the sake of his pride, she hoped that he wouldn’t make it in time to watch his team lose miserably.

Two of the Ravenclaw chasers sped through the air towards the goal and faked a handoff at the last second, tricking the Gryffindor keeper into strafing left. With the goal wide open, they scored again. Billy and the rest of the house roared like a mighty blue ocean crashing onto shore.

“Hey hey,” a familiar voice said from the other side of Billy. It was Jason.

“Hey, get outta here Gryffindor!” Somebody yelled from two rows back.

“Shite, that’s Jason Scott,” another wizard hissed.

“Oh,” the first crowd member said. “Uh, sorry mate!” He called.

Jason waved to the hecklers half-heartedly as he brushed past Billy. “So I see it’s going well.”

“For us, yeah,” Trini said.

“I can’t believe you’re cheering for your ex,” Jason said, settling in between the two least hostile Ravenclaws.

Trini glared at him. “Fuck you, I’m cheering for my house.”

“Uh, Jason,” Billy started, “I think your understudy just forfeited.”

“What?!” Jason shouted, standing. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled towards the field. “What are you doing, Flynn?”

A wave of boos encouraged him to sit back down. “Guess that’s game,” Jason said. “These guys are not gonna like what I come up with for training next week.”

The three of them filed out of the stands. Trini and Billy flanked Jason to keep some of the more aggressive fans in blue from shoving him about, but they still shouted a number of creative insults about his team’s performance. One compared his keeper’s skill to that of a “snoring dugbog with horklumps for hands.”

Traffic blocked their way out--everybody was high-fiving the Ravenclaw team that had gathered by the exit. Trini remembered that the team hadn’t lost any players to graduation, and the team was now composed of veterans. They had a chance at a good season, especially with Tamara Oliver as their new captain.

Tamara was taller than all of her teammates except for the other seventh year, Sven Nelson. She was strong, with broad, proud shoulders. At the moment her hair was blue, as it often was on game days, and pulled back in a pony tail. As Trini watched, a silver eagle’s beak grew out of Tamara’s nose. The cluster of enthusiastic spectators around her laughed and cheered, impressed as always by the captain’s metamorphmagical abilities. Tamara’s face shifted back to her own as she looked up at Trini with a flawless smile and sparkling turquoise eyes (she swore they were her natural color). She excused herself from her fan club and shoved through the sea of students in Trini’s direction.

When Tamara spotted Jason, she reacted much like a peacock might. She ran her hand through her hair as it changed color, a shiver of green following her fingertips. “Captain Scott,” Tamara greeted him. “Sorry to sink your ship.”

“No hard feelings,” Jason said, grasping Tamara’s extended hand and shaking it. “You played great.”

“So you missed your last kickoff game because..”

“He blew up the cafeteria,” Billy blurted out.

“The cafeteria,” Tamara repeated, glancing at Jason in amusement.

Jason shrugged.

“Alright then,” Tamara said. “Hey, Trini.”

“’Sup,” Trini replied with a stoic nod. “So, captain?”

“As voted by my team,” Tamara said.

Trini raised an eyebrow. “How else do you get to be captain?”

A knowing look flashed across Tamara’s face. She opened her mouth in a smile and Trini saw that one tooth was suddenly missing.

“They put it back,” Trini mumbled.

Two students with blue painted faces grabbed Tamara by the shoulders and shouted a series of forceful congratulations in her face before hoisting silver sheets on their backs and cawing like eagles.

“True,” Tamara said. “It’s not like Ty’s team liked him that much anyway.”

“Does anybody?” Jason laughed. He reached out to shake Tamara’s hand again. “I gotta run. Great game, man.”

“Thanks. Don’t blow up any more shit before our rematch.”

Billy followed Jason out of the stadium, leaving Trini with the dangerously charismatic quidditch captain. Fortunately, Tamara’s team mobbed her and starting dragging her off to celebrate before the conversation could continue.

“I’ll see you around, Trini,” Tamara said, going off to join her team. “We’re partying in the common room. Swing by if you want.”

“Well, I live there, so,” Trini managed. “Maybe.”

With a wink, Tamara left with her hollering teammates.

As much as Trini hated to admit it, Tamara had most definitely won the popular vote for good reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't proofread this so please let me know if there are any glaring errors. Also let me know if you're enjoying it so far :D


	4. Verdimillious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Verdimillious (charm): releases an explosion of green sparks; reveals objects hidden by Dark Magic. 
> 
> A rather tense breakfast is followed by Potions class with a very strange professor. Kimberly comes to a realization about her tendency to go green whenever she so much as hears Tamara Oliver's name.

“Jason, I still can’t believe you blew up that table,” Billy said, slurping his spiced pumpkin soup between words. Trini had once asked Billy why he ate soup for breakfast, to which he plainly replied, “Why don’t you?”

None of them questioned his tastes (out loud) again.

“Can we let it go, Billy? It’s been three weeks,” Jason said, shoving two corn muffins into the pocket of his robes. Across from Jason, Zack followed suit and grabbed two muffins. Jason was always complaining that it was hard to find a good snack at Hogwarts without pillaging the kitchens, so Kimberly had jokingly suggested that he become his own vending machine. After she’d explained the concept of a vending machine to her wizard-born-and-raised friends, Zack had capitalized on the idea by sewing extra pockets into his and Jason’s robes and selling whatever baked goods they could pack into their clothes to other hungry students. Their business was so successful that they occasionally picked up the butterbeer tab for the entire bar on Hogsmeade trips.

“How’s everyone’s classes?” Jason asked, taking a bite out of his own corn muffin.

Zack’s face lit up. “I signed up for Care of Magical Creatures. The first meeting’s today.”

“I’m in that class, too,” Billy said. “Wait, you didn’t bring your book?”

“That freaky thing? No way, man.” He looked back to Jason. “How ‘bout you?”

Jason squinted. “I’m not sure yet. I still have to choose one more elective.”

Zack pointed finger guns at him and Billy smiled excitedly.

“You think they’ll let me repeat Care of Magical Creatures?” Jason asked.

Billy pointed out that Jason had very much failed the class the first time around, but Kimberly tuned out of the conversation when saw Trini walk in through the door of the Great Hall. Just in case she’d overslept, Kimberly had snagged her an extra muffin before Jason could add it to his black market stash.

Kimberly’s smile faded when she saw a second blue-robed figure swoop to Trini’s side and follow her to towards their table. Tamara Oliver matched Trini’s stride perfectly. Every step was in sync. It was like they’d practiced walking together. Kimberly couldn’t help but gag at the image.

When Tamara and Trini arrived at the Ravenclaw table, Trini was laughing and Tamara was smiling proudly. Kimberly forced herself to repress the scowl that threatened to break out on her face and greeted them with a monotone, “Morning.”

“Hey,” Trini said, plopping down on Kimberly’s left.

Tamara pointed to the spot next to Billy and across from Trini. “Is this seat taken?”

Billy’s eyes went wide and he shook his head. “Go ahead, Captain--I mean Tommy--no, that’s your brother’s name...”

Tamara cocked her head and grinned. “Captain’s fine with me. You’re Billy, yeah?”

Billy froze before turning to Jason and whispering loudly. “Jason, she knows my name.”

“Congrats on the kickoff game,” Kimberly said to the uninvited guest. “Guess we’ll see how good you really are next week.”

Tamara scoffed. “We beat the best team in the school.”

“Only because their best player got suspended.”

“Are you really gonna shit talk me at my own house’s table?” Tamara smiled tightly. A fiery flash of red spread from the roots of her hair to the tips before disappearing.

Kimberly huffed out an exhale so violent she was sure she had breathed fire. She sliced through the sausage on her plate and stabbed her fork into the end piece.

Zack managed to cut into the tunnel of tension between the two. “Hey, you guys wanna keep the rivalry on the field? I’m pretty sure breakfast isn’t competitive.”

Jason tried to move the conversation to common ground. “How’s being captain, Oliver? Pretty sweet gig, right?”

“I can’t say I hate it. I even get to use the prefects’ bathroom,” Tamara said, mischief glinting in her eyes as she stared at Trini.

“Cute,” Kimberly said to her plate in a fake high-pitched voice. She considered continuing her roast of Tamara Oliver but a hand on her leg stopped her.

Trini was watching Kimberly, a slight furrow in her brow. She didn’t say anything, just left her hand on Kimberly’s leg and returned her attention to piling eggs on her plate. It was funny, Kimberly thought, how Trini’s touch could calm her down so easily. Trini radiated nonchalance, and Kimberly would do well to invest a little less effort in being petty. She inhaled deeply and cast a small smile in Trini’s direction. She decided not to care that Tamara was sitting on the other side of the table glancing up at Trini every few seconds with those alarmingly blue eyes and long, gorgeous eyelashes and perfectly smooth dark skin and--

\--Maybe Kimberly cared a little. But she certainly wasn’t going to admit it.

***

“Welcome back to Potions class. I’m sure you’re all just itching to get your hands on the wonderful, terrible things in your textbook. But let’s start with names.”

The witch that had taken over as the Potions instructor sent shivers up Trini’s spine. From the look on Kimberly’s face, she felt the same. Professor Repulsa looked like she’d crawled out of the bottom of the Great Lagoon just in time to make it to class: her greasy hair hung from her head like seaweed clumps and she had at least two fake gold teeth. To her credit, she seemed to be keeping the attention of an entire roomful of seventh year students. Trini suspected that they were all captivated by the same sort of fascinated disgust, but they were awake and alert nonetheless.

“You,” Professor Repulsa said, pointing at Kimberly and slithering up to her and Trini’s shared desk. “I recognize you.”

Trini tried not to roll her eyes as Kimberly put on her best fake smile. “Professor Repulsa, it’s good to see you again. I’m Kimberly Hart.”

“Kimberly Hart...Kimberly Hart...yes!” The Professor snapped her fingers in front of Kimberly’s face. “Your mother was an auror.”

“Uh, my mother is a pediatrician,” Kimberly said. “I’m in your house.”

Professor Repulsa glared at Kimberly before realizing that Kimberly was referring to their Hogwarts sorting and not the professor’s personal residence. “Yes...” she trailed off mumbling something about how Slytherin’s colors would be better as green and gold before returning to the front of the classroom. She launched into a lesson about aconite root, all discussion of first names and houses forgotten.

Kimberly leaned close and Trini slid her notes over, thinking that Kimberly needed to copy something down.

“Sorry about breakfast,” Kimberly whispered.

Trini shrugged. “I don’t care,” she lied. Kimberly turned green as her tie whenever Tamara was around, but Trini was fairly sure that their rivalry was rooted in quidditch. She was thrilled at the prospect that Kimberly might be jealous of Trini’s history with Tamara, but that train of thought only led Trini into a spiral. She’d tried to get over her feelings for Kimberly, but kissing other girls inevitably led to fantasizing and wishful thinking.

“She’s just so...” Kimberly clenched her fist on the desk as she searched for words.

“Friendly? Popular? Cool?” Trini deadpanned.

“Exactly!” Kimberly hissed. “I hate it.”

“Nice people are the worst,” Trini nodded. Whatever Kimberly’s reason was for disliking Tamara, Trini was endlessly amused by their interactions. Even quidditch matches between Ravenclaw and Slytherin had become infamously contentious. “You guys have a lot in common,” Trini said quietly.

“Please, the whole school wishes I’d drop dead off my broom.”

Trini shrugged. “Not everyone.”

Kimberly opened her mouth, but she was cut off by a loud snap of Professor Repulsa’s fingers.

“Tell me, Miss Hart,” the professor started, “what exactly do you need to discuss so desperately that you must do so during my class?”

Kimberly’s mouth closed silently.

“Ten points from Slytherin,” Professor Repulsa sibilated before returning to her lesson.

***

Kimberly’s first day of classes was...a lot. She was so tired by the end of her seventh class that she couldn’t come up with a more detailed description of her exhaustion. As she lay in her bed staring at the ceiling, her head swirled with worries. If she was going to survive this academic term while playing quidditch and enjoying her last year of school with her friends, she was going to need to make some changes. There was no way she could juggle seven N.E.W.T. courses, even if she had qualified for all of them with spectacular grades. She had done well on her exams up until now with the help of Billy’s enthusiastic tutoring and Trini’s detailed study guides.

Trini repeatedly surprised Kimberly--it was the best part of being friends with her, really. Kimberly hadn’t expected her to be a fastidious organizer, but she was. Trini was the sort of student who never needed to study to succeed, and most aspects of magic came naturally to her. She never ruined her weekends by studying too hard or pulling all-nighters. Kimberly laughed to herself. If there was one thing she definitively knew about Trini it was that she loved sleep more than good marks.

When had Trini become the last person that Kimberly thought about before falling asleep?

Kimberly sat up in her bed and gathered the soft pink sheets around her chest. It finally made sense why she could taste bitter jealousy on her own tongue whenever Tamara Oliver was around, why her competitive spark burst into a wildfire whenever she was facing off with the Ravenclaw team. The flutter in her chest that acted up every time Trini walked into a room had been there for a long, long time. An embarrassingly long time, if Kimberly was being honest with herself. Somehow she had failed to notice it--or rather, she’d noticed it and made a subconscious decision to ignore it. How clumsily clueless she had been.

Now Kimberly had to face the fact that she had rather fumblingly fallen for one of her best friends.

***


	5. Helga Hufflepuff's Guide to Food-Related Charms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimberly keeps apparating into places she really shouldn't be. Later, drama over breakfast in the Great Hall.

Every time Kimberly apparated, she was thankful that her father had forced her to get over her fear of roller coasters via repeated exposure. As a child, she’d spent more time at amusement parks throwing up than actually riding rides, but her father had been preparing her for a future in the magical world as best he could in their muggle hometown. By the time she was eleven, she actually enjoyed roller coasters, and a few years later she discovered that apparating simulated the same sensation.

Her wizard father hadn’t taught her how to apparate quietly, however. With a fizzling crackle and a pop, she appeared in the Ravenclaw common room. Her noisy arrival woke one of the three students who had fallen asleep while studying. Fortunately, that student was Billy.

“...Kimberly?” He said, blinking his eyes open. “Why are you in my room?” He looked around and saw the other two students who were sleep face-first in their books. “Why are these guys in my room?!”

“Relax, Billy. We’re in the common room,” Kimberly said.

“Oh, oh.” Billy relaxed for a second but then jolted awake. “Kimberly, why are you in my common room?”

She considered telling Billy that he was dreaming and then dispparating, but her business felt urgent. “Uh, I needed to talk to Trini.”

“She’s not here. She’s sleeping, like I was before you so rudely interrupted.” In his irritation, Billy’s voice was approaching a normal conversational volume and threatening to awaken the other two snoozing students.

Kimberly whispered. “I need to talk to her.”

“I need to report this,” he said, sliding out of the brown leather reading chair. His resigned tone betrayed disappointment.

Kimberly’s heart stopped. “No, Billy, please.”

“I’m a prefect, Kimberly.”

“If you report me, I’ll tell Professor Clint you helped Jason and Zack blow up that table,” she hissed, stabbing a finger into his chest. “And you will never see the inside of the Prefects’ Bathroom again.”

“If I agree, will you stop touching me?”

“Deal.”

With a defeated whine, Billy sank back into his chair.

“Ha!” Kimberly exclaimed a little too loudly. One of the other students grunted and started lifting their head off of a crumpled pile of notes. Kimberly turned back to Billy, eyes wide. He might keep his mouth shut, but she couldn’t count on these two strangers. Billy waved his hands at her, willing her to dismiss herself from the room hastily.

Kimberly disapparated and landed back in her own bed.

Maybe it was for the best. She hadn’t planned out anything to say to Trini. What was she going to, waltz right into her room, wake her up, and confess her feelings? She slapped a palm to her forehead. This was one of those times that Kimberly was surprised that she hadn’t been sorted into Gryffindor. She was more impulsive than all of her friends, except maybe Zack. Planning wasn’t exactly her strong suit. She could very easily be expelled for apparating on school grounds without permission, but she hadn’t thought twice about it. Hell, she hadn’t even thought _once_ about it. She’d just poofed into the Ravenclaw common room like it was her own bedroom. She’d signed up for more classes than she could possibly manage. She’d almost picked a fight with Tamara in the middle of the Great Hall.

If she kept acting like this, she thought, she would probably burn out her academic and athletic careers and torpedo any chance she had with Trini. Kimberly knew that she had a talent for sabotaging herself, but this wasn’t something she could afford to ruin. With newfound resolve, she decided to make some changes.

***

Kimberly had two empty seats next to her at breakfast. She sulked across the table from Billy and Jason and poked at the last bite of cold scrambled egg on her plate with her fork.

“You don’t think it’s weird?” She asked, watching the egg jiggle as she prodded it.

Jason spread some alarmingly bright red jam on his toast. “No. Trini can eat with whoever she wants.”

“Whomever,” Billy interjected. He had been cramming for his Arithmancy exam non-stop, and he barely looked up from his notes to pick up his orange juice. It might only have been the first week of classes, but Billy was serious about acing his N.E.W.T.-level courses.

Kimberly gave him an unimpressed look, but he didn’t take note of it. “Of course she can eat with who-- _whom_ ever she wants. But she always eats with us.”

“Zack’s over there at the Hufflepuff table,” Billy pointed out, still focused on his notes.

Kimberly looked over to see Zack chatting up Camila, a pretty blonde girl with a subtle sarcastic streak whom Kimberly recognized as the Hufflepuff quidditch team’s second beater. “That’s because he’s desperate to get a date to the Halloween party.”

“That’s still a month away,” Jason said, pulling a face.

“He’s ‘laying groundwork,’” Kimberly air-quoted. “Plus, I think he’s secretly a Hufflepuff.”

“No way. Gryffindor through and through,” Jason argued, shaking his head. “Billy, are you gonna have that last piece?”

Billy handed his toast to Jason without taking his eyes off his paper.

“Zack’s as red as Billy is blue,” Jason said, biting into his toast. “Trini’s the secret Hufflepuff. She loves that yellow hat.”

“Fair point,” Kimberly said. She glanced over her shoulder again, hoping that Jason’s mention of Trini’s name would inspire her to appear at their table. Instead, Trini was at the end of a mostly empty table, laughing at yet another of Tamara’s apparently stellar jokes.

“Ugh,” Kimberly sneered. “So what, Tamara Oliver’s cooler than us now?”

“She’s always been cooler than us, Kim,” Billy said matter-of-factly.

“She’s Tamara Oliver,” Jason said, synonymizing her name with all things revered by teenagers.

“Not everybody,” Kimberly spat. She finally stabbed her fork through the last piece of egg.

“She’s funny. She’s nice. She’s the coolest,” Billy listed off. “How can anybody not like her?”

Jason shrugged and gazed at Kimberly with a gentle, sad expression. Kimberly might not have told him anything about her recently realized feelings for Trini, but as always his eyes were full of kindness and understanding.

Kimberly returned his small smile and looked back over her shoulder. Tamara pushed her hair back out of her face. A moment later, Trini did the same thing, her fingers brushing over the braids on one side of her head and combing out their loose ends. As far as Kimberly could see, the two of them weren’t talking. They were just laughing and staring into each other’s eyes. Absolutely gross, Kimberly thought. Trini cocked her head to the side and said something. From what Kimberly could see, Tamara’s reply laced with something much more intoxicating than friendliness.

“Ugh, you can literally see her stupid accent,” Kimberly said. “I’m Tahmrah, my hayah chaynges colah whenevah I wont!”

“Kimberly, that is the worst British accent I’ve ever heard,” Billy said. He’d looked up from his notes just to stare at her bluntly.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t pull that one out at parties,” Jason agreed.

“Whatever. I’m going to class.” Kimberly dragged the last piece of egg off of her fork with her teeth and stormed away from the table.

Jason watched her leave with a furrow in his brow. “Isn’t her next class--”

“At three p.m., yes,” Billy finished.

***

“Thanks for getting breakfast with me,” Tamara said.

“You’re lucky I showed up. I’m not a morning person,” Trini replied.

“Then I’ll be sure to ask you to dinner next time,” Tamara smiled.

Trini glanced up from her plate and scoffed. “Next time?”

Tamara shrugged. “I miss hanging out with you. And you seem to like seeing me enough to get out of bed, so...” She trailed off and her smile turned into a pleased smirk.

“I’m here for the toast,” Trini joked. The breakfast at Hogwarts was worth waking up for on occasion, but she wasn’t entirely sure why she’d agree to get breakfast with Tamara. The longer she sat across from Tamara the smaller her appetite became. They’d spent plenty of time alone together--mostly in secluded corners--but there was something unnerving about sitting across from her now.

Trini had known Tamara before she’d become a school celebrity of sorts. While they ate, someone passed by and waved to Tamara every two minutes. Tamara had been a bit of a loner at thirteen years old when she’d sat next to Trini in Charms class. Trini wasn’t sure when Tamara had become the type to greet acquaintances in the dining hall.

“Hey,” Tamara started, “are you headed to Hogsmeade this weekend?”

Trini raised her eyebrow. “Don’t you have practice?” It was a bit of a sore spot for Trini, quidditch. They’d stopped seeing each other shortly after Tamara had joined the team at the beginning of fifth year.

“I thought I might give my team a day off before we shut out Slytherin on Sunday. We did win our first game rather spectacularly.”

Trini bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder at her typical breakfast spot. Zack was missing for some reason, and Trini guessed that he was either sleeping in or taking advantage of an opportunity to hit on Camila Rose again.

Hogsmeade trips were always a close-group-of-friends sort of excursion. Billy knew all the best shops, Zack and Jason paid for everything with their illicit baked goods fund, and Kimberly...Kimberly always wore that matching bright pink scarf and hat. She was always so easy to find if they got separated. When she wrapped the scarf up around her face, it was still so clear when she was smiling. Her eyes sparkled even more when her upturned lips were hidden. Trini couldn’t keep herself from laughing at the image of Kimberly all bundled up.

“Something funny?” Tamara asked, watching Trini with an unsure smile and a crease between her eyebrows.

“Just how freaking cocky you are,” Trini teased. “Jason’s team was down two players.”

“Jason’s team got their asses kicked,” Tamara fired back.

Trini might not have been a Gryffindor, but she still cheered for Jason’s team to do well. “Come on, it was close.”

“Whatever you say,” Tamara said, flaunting a piece of toast. “So, Hogsmeade?”

“I’m going with Jason and the guys,” Trini said.

“Oh,” Tamara said. Her confidence didn’t falter for even a moment. “Could I tag along?”

Trini shrugged. “I guess. No trash talking.”

“Agreed.” Tamara extended her hand.

Trini scoffed again. “Yeah, okay.”

“I swear it, I do! Unbreakable vow.” Tamara insisted, laughing. When Trini didn’t take her hand, she withdrew it. “Well, I’m looking forward to it. Are you headed to Astronomy?”

“In a sec. Gonna wreck this french toast first,” Trini said. “I’ll see you in class.”

“Sure.” As soon as Tamara left the table, two people swooped in from nowhere and walked her out of the Great Hall.

Trini turned around to check on her usual table. Her heart sank a little when she saw that Jason and Billy were the only ones still there.


	6. Aguamenti

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aguamenti (charm): conjures water.

Trini raced out of the Great Hall, hoping she might find Kimberly outside. Kimberly and Tamara’s intense rivalry might make a group Hogsmeade outing awkward, so Trini wanted to check with her first before asking the boys if Tamara could join them. Part of Trini knew that Kimberly would shoot down the idea of bringing someone else into their squad, but she figured it was nicer to ask and not assume that Kimberly disliked Tamara just as much off of the quidditch pitch. They really did have a lot in common, Trini thought.

Kimberly was moving down the hallway to the right of the dining hall. It wasn’t like her to abandon the guys. She had probably left before taunting Zack about his awkward flirting. Something was definitely off with her. Trini pushed through the throng of late diners to catch up.

“Hey,” Trini said, falling into step with Kimberly instantly.

“Hi.” Kimberly’s greeting was clipped. Her pace picked up as soon as Trini appeared next to her.

Trini hustled to catch up and grabbed Kimberly by the shoulder and stopping her. “Everything cool with you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Kimberly lied. “Best Wednesday ever.”

She really was one of the worst liars Trini had ever met. “Wanna go to the lake? If you want to talk about anything--”

“I said I’m fine,” Kimberly insisted. She resumed power walking.

Trini shrugged and tried to keep up. She knew better than to press a brooding Kimberly to share feelings. She would say something when she felt ready. Probably. Maybe. Trini decided to change the subject. “Hogsmeade’s this weekend. Wanna bet on how many drinks Jason finishes before he throws up on Zack?”

Kimberly stared straight ahead of her. Her voice was hard and strained, like the rubber skin of a balloon pumped full of water. “I have practice.”

“Tamara cancelled hers.”

“Well, that means your girlfriend gave up the Saturday spot this week, so--”

“My _what?”_

***

Kimberly didn’t say anything. She could feel bile rising in her throat and knew that her next words to Trini would be caustic and bitter. Trini crossed her arms and stared, waiting for Kimberly to take it back. But she couldn’t. Jealously boiled in her veins and rapidly incinerated any concern Kimberly had with saying too much.

Trini fired back. “I don’t know who you’ve been gossiping with, princess, but their intel’s shit. I’m not with Tamara.”

“Does she know that?” Kimberly snapped. She knew by the stunned look on Trini’s face that her acerbic words had done more than just jab. They’d betrayed how hurt Kimberly was, how personally she had taken Trini’s choice in company.

“Kim,” Trini said softly. She reached her hand towards Kimberly’s arm. “I don’t get it. What’s going on?”

“I have to go,” Kimberly managed. She hurried away before she started crying. It wasn’t like her to get all emotional, even around her close friends. Especially around her close friends.

She rushed outside, desperate to escape the busy, claustrophobic halls of the old castle. The quad was empty but for a few students who had escaped taking morning classes. Kimberly hoped that she could avoid running into anyone who might talk to her by hiding out on a corner bench and making herself as small as possible. She sat back against the cool stone wall, pulled her knees up to her chest, and buried her face as best she could. The worst part about Hogwarts, to Kimberly, was that there was no private place to cry.

“...Kim?”

“Look, I’m really not in the mood--” Kimberly looked up, expecting to spit venom at the poor soul who had made the mistake of bothering her. But she couldn’t very well yell at Billy.

“Can I sit?” He asked, pointing to the spot on the bench at the end of her feet.

Kimberly wiped at her face and took a deep breath. “Sure.”

Billy sat down slowly and looked at her, his expression void of both judgment and expectation.

“Don’t you have class?” Kimberly tried.

“In eight minutes, yes. Kimberly, why are you crying?”

“I don’t know, Billy,” she said exasperatedly. She wasn’t even sure where to start explaining her emotional state (not that she particularly wanted to). Billy certainly didn’t need more on his plate. Unlike Kimberly, he had signed up for seven classes with the full intention of sticking with them. She was meeting with her Head of House later to officially drop out of Arithmancy, and she hadn’t broken the news to her enthusiastic study buddy Billy yet.

“I’m sorry that I said that stuff about Tamara. I know you don’t like her,” Billy said.

“No, Billy--oh my god, I’m so not angry at you.”

“Oh, thank goodness! Jason said you weren’t, but I wanted to apologize just in case.”

“You’re gonna make me cry again,” Kimberly laughed.

Billy’s eyes went wide.

“Kidding. Sorry.”

“If you wanna talk, I’m a very good listener,” he bragged.

“Yeah,” Kimberly agreed. “I don’t know. There’s just--so much going on, and I feel like I don’t have enough time for everything, and I know it’s stupid to be stressed out about--”

Billy interrupted her gently by raising his hand. “It’s not stupid. Continue.”

“Maybe you’re the secret Hufflepuff,” she smiled.

“Nah, yellow does not look good on me.”

Kimberly sighed. “Okay, you know what?

“Hey, what’s goin’ on?” It was Jason, following Billy around like a puppy as usual.

Zack was on Jason’s heels. “I just ran into Tamara--whoa, Kim. Hey.”

Kimberly rolled her eyes dramatically at the mention of Tamara, drawing their attention. When they saw that she had been crying, they both sank to a seat in the grass and looked up at her.

“I’m sorry, guys,” she said, dabbing at her eyes with her robe sleeves.

“Dude, we get it, you don’t like the coolest girl in school,” Zack joked.

Kimberly shot him a vicious glare.

“Quidditch rivalries can get intense, man,” Jason said, patting Zack on the shoulder.

“No, it’s--” Kimberly cut herself off. She had repressed her feelings for Trini for _years_ , and she was too tired to continue hiding it. “Fuck it. I’m jealous.”

“Big of you to admit that,” Jason started. “If it makes you feel any better, I think we’re all jealous.”

Zack nodded. “She’s friends with, like, everybody. Gets amazing grades. Insanely athletic--”

“Thanks, Zack,” Kimberly silenced him. “But I’m pretty sure I’m jealous because--”

“Is it the cool hair? I would kill to be able to--”

“I like Trini!” Kimberly blurted out.

All three of her friends stared at her. Zack’s mouth stretched into a smug smile while Jason put together the pieces more slowly.

Billy just blinked. “We all like Trini, Kim.”

Kimberly took a deep breath. “I mean, like, romantically.”

Billy raised his eyebrows and nodded as he processed this new information. “I did not see that one coming. Jason, did you see that one coming?”

“Uh, not really,” Jason admitted. His expression matched Billy’s, but Zack had clearly moved on from the surprised phase to scheming.

“This is great,” Zack said.

“What are you plotting, you little imp?” Kimberly snarked.

“I spent three years trying to get Trini a girlfriend! I can’t believe I never locked her in a room with you and just let it happen.”

“Zack, are you kidding? Wait, how many girls did you do that to?”

Zack rubbed his hands together and sprang up off the ground. “Alright, Kimmy, you got plans this Saturday?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Cancel them.”

Kimberly flinched. “Don’t tell me what to do, Taylor.”

“I’ll explain later. Trust me.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Hang on, Kim.” Jason jumped up and gestured for Zack to whisper his plan. “Billy, come here.”

Billy joined the other boys in a circle and Zack spoke quietly. Kimberly could see Jason’s eyes lit up as Zack went on, and soon he was nodding vehemently in accord. Billy grinned.

“Alright,” Zack said, popping his head out of the huddle.

“Whatever it is, no,” Kimberly asserted.

“Kim, do you trust me?” Jason asked. He held out a hand to invite her into the huddle.

Kimberly hesitated before letting Jason bring her into the circle.

Zack put a hand on his chest in mock offense.

“What’s your plan?” She asked, suddenly overcome by the urge to take a nap. Crying was always so exhausting.

“Tamara wants to come to Hogsmeade with us,” Zack began.

“No!” Kimberly exclaimed.

“Hang on. I think we can make this work,” said Jason.

“We can keep Cool Girl distracted so you can make your move on Crazy Girl,” Zack said.

Kimberly narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s not even a plan. It’s barely an idea.”

“You don’t need to know the details,” Zack dismissed. “I’ll go catch Tamara and tell her she’s in for Saturday.”

“For the record, I hate this ‘plan.’” Her stomach flipped at the thought of being around both Trini and Tamara for an extended period of time. She would keep it together. Somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This made me a lil sad to write because i just want Kimberly to be happy, BUT Hogsmeade trip incoming. I promise Zack's shenanigans will pay off.


	7. Impedimenta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Impedimenta (jinx): freezes the target for a few moments. 
> 
> Trini and Zack have a chat by the lake. Kimberly stresses about the trip to Hogsmeade, but then Zack's plan is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi so Life has been happening this past week and I want to do the Hogsmeade date itself justice, so it's coming I promise! I also realized I hadn't really shown how Trini felt about Tamara, so I wanted to address that.

Before executing this delicate operation, Zack had to check in with his best friend. Trini was emotionally reclusive and prone to severe glaring when angered, but Zack could usually get her to open up if he turned off his impulse to make everything into a joke and approached her genuinely. He found her out by the lake.

“What’s on your mind, Crazy Girl?” He asked from a safe distance where Trini couldn’t accidentally punch him if he startled her.

Trini’s hand flew for her wand, but she relaxed and turned back to the water when she saw that it was only Zack. “I almost cursed you.”

“I’m a dementor, remember? Curses don’t work on me,” Zack joked. He sat down next to her. It smelled like fresh-cut, cool grass with a hint of autumn. “Hey, what’s your patronus, anyway?”

She shrugged and maintained her focus on the glassy surface of the lake.

He scrutinized her for a moment. “Cat.”

Although she didn’t look away from the water, Zack could sense a classic Trini glare coming on and hurried to correct course. “Like a wildcat. A panther or a leopard. No, a tiger!” He clapped his hands together, thrilled with himself.

“...Whatever, Zack.”

Normally she would pounce at the chance to mock such a conjecture.

“Hey, I talked to your girlfriend--” Zack started.

Trini cut him off. Her voice cracked a little. “Yo, can you tell me something? How come everybody but me’s decided I’m in a relationship?”

Zack put his hands up. “Whoa. It was a joke, man. I take it back. Anyway, Tamara said you invited her to tag along on Saturday.”

“Not really. She invited herself.”

“You’re hanging out with a school celebrity!”

Trini shrugged again. “Like, it used to be chill. We used to just talk and stuff. She keeps asking me to hang out and I feel like I can’t say no to her, but it’s so weird now. I don’t know what happened.”

“You wanna know what I think?”

“No.”

Zack steamrolled over her sass and kept talking. “I think you’re thinking too hard.”

“Hm.”

“Dude, I can hear you thinking again. Just promise you’ll let yourself have fun on Saturday.”

***

Kimberly woke up on Saturday morning much earlier than she had intended. In fact, she’d awakened several times before dawn. Her nerves were about as steely as wet noodles, and she did not enjoy the constant fluttering sensation in her stomach that flared up whenever she thought about Saturday. Hogsmeade trips were a regular, normal, completely platonic activity that she always enjoyed.

This time shouldn’t have been any different, except that between this trip and the last she had realized the reason for her intense dislike for the Ravenclaw captain and discovered that she might be a little bit in love with one of her best friends and let her other best friends hatch a plan that was sure to land someone in the hospital wing. She’d made Billy vow not to let Jason and Zack use anything explosive or otherwise bodily dangerous in their plan to keep Tamara occupied at Hogsmeade, so any physical injury sustained in the wake of Zack’s idea was out of her hands entirely.

Kimberly stayed in bed staring at the ceiling and cycling through wild doubt, mild confidence, and extreme nervousness until she was almost late getting up. She hurried out of bed, washed her face, and threw on her coat and her matching pink scarf and hat. The weather was more “nippy early fall” than “freezing pre-winter,” but wrapping the soft cashmere blend around her face made her feel a little less anxious to confront the date. The day. To confront the day.

She skipped breakfast and hurried outside. Clusters of students huddled together, and the surprising chill in the air made Kimberly glad she had bundled up a little. Kimberly searched for her friends, but somehow she was the first one there. It was almost ten minutes past nine. Jason was rarely late for anything, and Zack was always on time when he was doing something he cared about. Billy was probably off shepherding third years and helping to gather permission slips like the professional prefect he was.

Maybe Trini had overslept.

Kimberly leaned against the cold stone wall of the castle and watched as the first group of students moved out towards Hogsmeade.

“Hey,” a voice said next to Kimberly. Trini was there leaning against the wall by her side.

“Hey, I didn’t see you coming,” Kimberly said. In a pathetic effort at humor, she added, “Did you apparate or something?”

“That’s your thing,” Trini countered. “You seen the guys yet?”

Kimberly shook her head. “Maybe they went ahead of us. I got here late.”

“Yeah, I didn’t really want to get out of bed today.”

Trini loved going to Hogsmeade. What in the world could have changed her mind? One of the guys had probably said something. Zack, it must have been Zack. Or Jason--he wouldn’t even realize it, probably. Billy would never, unless he was angry at her for apparating into the common room--

Kimberly could feel her brain getting overheated from thinking too hard. If she was accusing Billy of plotting behind her back, she needed to calm down.

“You eat yet?” Trini asked.

“I ran here,” Kimberly said. “I figured we’d--I’d--find something once we got there.”

“Did you have a weird dream or something?”

“What? No.”

Trini shrugged and dropped it.

Kimberly knew that when she was stressed she started acting strange. She couldn’t hide it, unlike Trini. Trini was about as emotive as the stone wall behind her.

Professor McGonagall called for the next group of students to gather around her (despite becoming Headmaster, she had continued supervising Hogsmeade outings).

“Should we go?”

For a moment, Kimberly just stared at her.

“Unless you wanna wait for Zack to haul his ass out of the dining hall.”

“He’s probably stealing enough muffins to set up a food truck or something.”

“Come on,” Trini said, taking Kimberly’s hand.

Trini elbowed a couple of third years out of the way and they snagged the last two spots in the group. Kimberly glanced back over her shoulder and opened her mouth to apologize to the younger students, but she stopped mid-sorry when she saw the guys rounding the corner of the castle with Tamara. Zack caught her eye and shouted something to his friends and dropped to the ground, causing them to do the same. Tamara and Billy ran back around the corner. Zack looked right at Kimberly, smiled, and nodded.

Trini tugged at Kimberly’s hand again and they were off down the path to Hogsmeade. Alone.

So this was Zack’s plan.


	8. Stupefy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stupefy (charm): stuns the target. 
> 
> Getting shut into a small room with your crush can lead to some...revelations. The Hogsmeade trip takes a more-than-friendly turn.

Once the castle was out of sight behind them, Trini slowed her pace.

“So, what was that about?”

“Huh?” Trini turned around to see Kimberly stopped a couple of steps back.

“The guys were right behind you.”

“Yeah. They sent me ahead to meet up with you.”

Kimberly’s slightly parted lips and and focused stare betrayed gentle concern and told Trini that her story wasn’t exactly convincing.

“Fine. Zack was bugging me, so I left. And I don’t want to hang out with Jason because he keeps trying to make me study with him.”

“Billy?”

Trini shrugged. “He’s busy being important.” She knew that Kimberly had seen Billy with the rest of the guys but tried anyway. There was only one person left for Kimberly to ask about.

“...So you’re not still mad at me?”

It wasn’t the question that Trini was expecting. She hadn’t been prepared to answer if Kimberly asked about Tamara, but Trini knew that she couldn’t stay angry at Kimberly for long. She shook her head.

“I was just surprised,” Trini started. “Everyone except me’s got something to say about who I’m dating.”

Kimberly’s eyes fell.

“Which is no one.”

It was hardly a save. Kimberly’s expression was blank as she started back towards the castle to meet up with the rest of the group.

All Trini could think about was telling Kimberly the truth about why she had ditched breakfast early. She’d kept this crush under wraps for years--why was it suddenly knocking around inside of her skull, drowning out every other thought? She watched Kimberly take one, two, three steps before catching her by the wrist. Kimberly stopped abruptly at the contact and traced her gaze up Trini’s arm to her eyes.

“You wanna..?” Trini cocked her head in the direction of Hogsmeade.

Kimberly’s face lit up with a cautious smile. Trini dropped Kimberly’s hand and shoved her own hands into the pockets of her bomber jacket. Without another word, Kimberly looped her arm through Trini’s and practically skipped the rest of the way.

***

Whenever the group went to Hogsmeade together, they sat in the back booth at the Three Broomsticks and tried to outdrink each other while chatting about classes and having a generally good time. Kimberly never remembered what they talked about on those outings, but the warm mood stuck with her for days afterwards.

Now that she was here alone with Trini, the booth felt too big and small talk felt, well, small. Trini claimed the table out of habit, but after ten minutes of sitting she still hadn’t gotten a drink from the gimmicky bartender who was juggling glasses (without charming them, he alleged). They exhausted all conversation about coursework quickly.

“How’s quidditch?” Trini asked.

Kimberly had been trying to avoid the topic. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep herself from badmouthing Tamara, and the last thing she wanted to do was drive Trini off with bitter banter about her athletic (and romantic) rival.

Unfortunately, Trini continued. “You guys ready for the game tomorrow?”

“Uh, yeah--”

A crashing sound over Kimberly’s shoulder saved her from going on. The bartender had, in fact, dropped one of the glasses, and was now shouting accusations at the more skeptical patrons gathered around him.

“You jinxed me!”

“Me? My son snapped my wand yesterday. Why do you think I’m here drinking?”

The chaos was amusing enough from a distance, and Trini chuckled when one of the more inebriated patrons hurled his own half-full glass against the floor.

“Barkeep, why’d you curse my pint? I want a fresh one!”

The humor of the situation was quickly subverted when Jason walked through the heavy wooden front door of the establishment. As soon as he walked in, Trini grabbed Kimberly’s hand and yanked her out of the booth, abandoning their coats. As far as Kimberly saw, Jason didn’t see them disappear into the back room. The pungent smell of hops and fermentation was stronger amongst the barrels, and the sweet scent of burning sugar wafted out of the kitchen. There was exactly enough floor space for two people to stand a little too close together.

Trini peeked out of the door before closing it quietly, and the muted hollering of the crowd faded into the back of Kimberly’s mind as Trini drew her wand and cast lumos. The steady, soft light that burned at the end of her wand cast fuzzy shadows across her face.

“Okay, this level of avoidant is weird, even for you,” Kimberly whispered.

Trini’s glare made it evident that she wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

“Just talk to me.”

“...I heard Professor Repulsa has a pet basilisk named Goldar--”

“Not about school, Trini. Why is this,” she gestured between the two of them, “weird?”

“Giant snakes are pretty weird,” Trini offered.

Kimberly crossed her arms with a huff and accidentally brushed against Trini’s raised hand. “If you’re gonna be like this, I’m leaving.” She thought about going for the door, but Trini’s body was squarely blocking her path.

“Sorry. I really--” Trini interrupted herself to swallow. “--I really don’t want to see Tamara.”

Three long blinks later, Kimberly realized that she had not, in fact, imagined Trini’s admission.

“She’s kinda jumping down my throat.”

“I noticed,” Kimberly added. “Which I’m guessing you noticed. Sorry I was a bitch.”

Trini shrugged. Kimberly would pay ten galleons to have some sort of shrug-and-glare-translating spell that could riddle out the subtleties of Trini’s many similar expressions.

“If you didn’t want to come--”

“I wouldn’t be here,” Trini countered before Kimberly could finish. “Kim, I wanted to hang out with you.”

Kimberly couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

“Tamara’s hot, whatever. I am so over her.”

“She’s pretty obviously not over you,” Kimberly said.

“That’s her problem.”

It was Kimberly’s turn to gulp dramatically. She tried to cover it quickly and sat back on one of the barrels nonchalantly. It was taller than she anticipated, and she ended up more leaning rather than sitting. “I can’t believe you dragged me into this storage closet just to hide from your ex.”

Trini’s eyes darkened. The light dimmed. “Yeah.”

“They’re probably gone by now,” Kimberly suggested, standing up. She was suddenly painfully aware of how warm it was in the closet. Had they been standing this close before?

“Yeah,” Trini repeated. The light flickered. Either Trini hadn’t earned her place in advanced charms or she was losing her concentration.

“Or,” Kimberly started, “Or they’re still there. And we’re...here.”

“Smooth,” Trini teased. The light vanished without Trini casting an extinguishing spell.

“Look who’s talking.”

Kimberly very much wished that neither of them was talking. She heard Trini’s breath catch in a gasp. With the slight light coming in around the door, Kimberly could see the backlit outline of Trini’s braids and the edge of her jaw and it was all too much.

“Can I--”

“Yeah,” Trini breathed out before their lips connected clumsily.

Kimberly’s palms met that sharp jaw. Trini’s hands found the back of Kimberly’s bare arms, and Kimberly wasn’t sure if she laughed because there were sparks sprinting through her veins or if she’d always been ticklish in that spot.

“Something funny, princess?” Trini teased.

Kimberly chose not to validate the taunt with a verbal response. Instead, she nipped at Trini’s bottom lip and caught it between her teeth briefly before crashing her mouth against Trini’s again. The little involuntary sound that Trini made confirmed that she would not make another sarcastic comment while her tongue could be put to better use.

***

Trini wasn’t exactly sure how she’d ended up pinned against the door of a storage closet by Kimberly Hart, but she certainly wasn’t going to complain.

It could have been seconds or hours. Trini didn’t care; her hands were lost in Kimberly’s hair. She was tempted to make a crack about how this was the longest she’d ever heard Kimberly be quiet, but that thought sublimated when she pulled Kimberly’s hair and a loud moan filled the small space. As if anticipating a conceited comment, Kimberly silenced Trini by biting her lip again. Trini had to keep her own groan from escaping, and she felt Kimberly’s conceited smile.

Trini was about to make Kimberly regret being so bold when she nearly collapsed backward. She assumed that her wavering legs had given out, but she caught herself after a single stumbling step. She managed to untangle her hand from Kimberly’s hair, but Kimberly refused to release her iron grip on Trini’s hips in time to keep herself from tumbling into Trini and knocking them both to the ground.

In some other setting, Trini would have been thrilled to be underneath Kimberly.

“Aw, shit!”

Trini opened her eyes to see Zack, equal parts surprised and elated, standing over them.

“See, Billy? I told you it wasn’t a Boggart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo thanks for keeping up with this! it's been thrilling to write thus far. and i love all your comments, thanks so much for leaving me your reactions! 
> 
> this chapter brought to you by the song "Daisy" by Zedd. it's a gay song, go listen if you like gay stuff (why else would you be here)

**Author's Note:**

> If you wanna talk about house headcanons, hit me up in the comments! 
> 
> I'm so excited to keep writing this :))


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